MLB LOOK AHEAD

Red-hot Trout, Angels prepare for Brewers

Field Level Media

April 08, 2019 at 7:17 am.

Apr 7, 2019; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) follows through on a two run home run in the fifth inning against the Texas Rangers at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Apr 7, 2019; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) follows through on a two run home run in the fifth inning against the Texas Rangers at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

As a two-time MVP and seven-time All-Star, Mike Trout has set the bar for greatness so high that his stellar play often goes relatively under the radar.

But his current hot streak has been impossible to miss, as he just finished pulverizing the Texas Rangers for six hits — including five homers — nine RBIs and six walks in a four-game series. His gargantuan 2.631 OPS was the third-highest mark by a player (min. 15 plate appearances) in any four-game series in MLB history, according to ESPN.

After Trout’s brilliance carried the Los Angeles Angels to wins in the final three games of the series, they’ll look to make it four straight wins as the Milwaukee Brewers visit for a three-game series beginning Monday.

Right-hander Trevor Cahill will toe the rubber for the Halos.

When they pursued him this past offseason, the Angels probably figured they weren’t going to get the Cahill who won 18 games as a 22-year-old for the Oakland A’s in 2010.

But when they signed the 31-year-old journeyman — making them his seventh major league team — to a one-year, $9 million free agent contract, they were hoping that he could at least give them what he gave the A’s last year: eight quality starts in 20 outings.

Having spent 10 major league seasons battling injuries and bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen, Cahill worked on refining his cutter during spring training. It paid off in his most recent start, when he held the Mariners to one run on three hits and no walks in six innings.

Cahill got a no-decision in what was a 2-1 Mariners victory, but it was a sign that his Cactus League work is paying off.

“Just one of those things where you get swings and misses and you automatically start feeling better with it,” Cahill said. “That’s just how it works. I’m just kind of getting comfortable with it, and having success with it and figuring out when it works and when it doesn’t.”

Cahill is 1-0 with a 2.29 ERA in 13 career games against the Brewers, but 12 of those games were as a reliever. Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich, who hit his fifth homer of the season Sunday in a 4-2 win over the Cubs, has one hit in six career at-bats against Cahill.

Jhoulys Chacin will start for Milwaukee, which has opened at 8-2, having won his first two starts. Chacin had a career-best season last year with the Brewers, going 15-8 with a 3.50 ERA in a National League-high 35 starts.

And that was part of the reason why Chacin was Brewers manager Craig Counsell’s Opening Day starter.

“It’s a thrill for me to watch competitors, and Jhoulys is a true competitor,” Counsell said. “He’s out on the mound thinking of ways to beat you. He’s got a number of different tricks in his bag, so to speak, that he goes to. I enjoy that. It’s gamesmanship. It’s competitiveness. It’s creativity on the mound.

“That’s a cool way to watch baseball. It’s a cool way to pitch. It really is.”

Chacin lost his only career start against the Angels, giving up two runs and five hits in six innings, and he’s never faced Trout. Among current Angels, Jonathan Lucroy has faced Chacin the most, going 5 for 19 with two doubles.

Chacin pitched for the Angels for part of the 2016 season, going 5-6 with a 4.58 ERA in 29 games (17 starts) before leaving after the season as a free agent.